Volume 44 | January 2018

The New Year brings many new and exciting changes! In this month’s newsletter, learn about The Network’s new coordinator, an opportunity to nominate community representatives to serve on The Network Advisory Board, how a Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) is beneficial to communities and a funding opportunity available through State Farm and the National Fire Protection Association.

The Network Welcomes New Coordinator

Michael Beaudoin. Photograph courtesy of Nevada Divison of Forestry.

Nevada Division of Forestry (NDF) is proud to announce that Michael Beaudoin has been hired as the new full-time Coordinator for the Nevada Network of Fire Adapted Communities program. He will be stationed in the NDF State Office in Carson City and will have statewide responsibilities with respect to the program. Mr. Beaudoin comes to us from the Mariposa County Fire Safe Council, where he served as the Executive Director, which included grants management, organizational leadership, community wildfire mitigation outreach, community wildfire protection planning, fuel reduction project management, and personnel management. He brings a wealth of journey level experience in natural resource conservation, geographic information systems (GIS), environmental compliance, wildfire research, wildfire prevention, policy analysis, and firefighting, which was gained while working for the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, several fire departments, and the Idaho State Legislature. He has recently completed his graduate degree in Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences. Mr. Beaudoin will be on-board at NDF on February 12th, and will be participating in the Network Annual Conference on March 12, 2018 in Reno, Nevada.

Thank You to Former Board Members

A big thank you goes out to our former Advisory Board Community Representatives, Jessica Santoyo (Northern Region), Liz Claggett (Southern Region) and Pat Murphy (Western Region), for their invaluable service in setting the foundation for the new Network. We’d also like to thank Ann Grant for not only serving on the board, but agreeing to continue in her appointed position for an additional year.

Call for Nominations

The Network 4th Annual Conference Helps Communities to Prepare and Update a Community Wildfire Protection Plan

Collaboration among residents, and local, state and federal firefighting agencies. Photograph courtesy of University of Nevada Cooperative Extension.

A few days ago I received a call from a rural Nevadan resident. He had recently moved to Nevada from Utah and had questions about creating a Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP). Immediately, I knew these important and frequently asked questions could be answered at The Nevada Network of Fire Adapted Communities 4 th Annual Conference. However, let’s first take a step back and define a CWPP and discuss the benefits of creating and updating this document. Continue reading...

Funding Opportunity

The following announcement was made by the U.S. Fire Administration: https://www.usfa.fema.gov/operations/infograms/012518.html   “State Farm and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) are again providing grant funding to support community wildfire risk reduction projects for this year’s Wildfire Community Preparedness Day on May 5. Communities can apply for the $500 grants through March 2.   Examples of projects include community clean-up days, fire prevention workshops, youth community service projects — anything that helps your community become more prepared for wildfire. For project ideas and tips on creating a winning application, check out the  Wildfire Community Preparedness Day website .   The 2017 wildfire season was extremely active with  nearly 10 million acres burned in the United States , very close to being a record. Many communities were devastated literally overnight. This is a great opportunity for your fire department or emergency management office to partner with the community, teaching homeowners and businesses how to limit and mitigate their wildfire risk. These programs can go a long way to lessening damage and loss of life in future wildfires.”

University of Nevada Cooperative Extension | Living With Fire Program | roicej@unce.unr.edu

STAY CONNECTED

This newsletter is provided by University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, an EEO/AA institution, with funding from a State Fire Assistance grant from the Nevada Division of Forestry and USDA Forest Service. Additional support is provided by the Bureau of Land Management - Nevada State Office.